Why Do We Have Fingerprints?

You may have heard that no two fingerprints are alike, even if left behind by identical twins. This is because the characteristic ridges found on our fingers and toes are the result of both nature and nurture, so to speak. The intrauterine environment is to blame for the more than 100 teeny-tiny variations that can be found in a fingerprint. These so-called minutiae include the bridges between ridges, or the abrupt ending of one, and are influenced by things like the density of the amniotic flui